Post navigation

Abaddon Incarnate – Pessimist

Even though Abaddon Incarnate have been around since the early 90’s they were a band I hadn’t gotten around to listening to until being blown away by their energy and grooving grindcore riffs at last months Candlefest in London – they were so good I had to give them a listen. And their new album Pessimist, released this June is marvellous. It blasts, grinds, grooves and punishes from start to finish and doesn’t let up for a full thirty five minutes of blistering deathgrind.

The title track comes first and just simply rips. Riffs that simultaneously groove and crush are delivered with a fat guitar tone, while the gnarly low end bass just makes the whole sound massive, the tone on the album is earth shaking. With both guitarists also on vocals, one shrieking in pained expulsions and the other barking like a maniac they’re fantastic across the album. Johnny King on the drums gives an insane performance, switching between blasts, d-beats and rhythmic fills with aplomb; the drumming sounds frantic and unhinged throughout, and the speed at is insane. Add a blistering solo through the middle of the track and it’s a fantastic death grind piece. A hefty dose of Brutal Truth seems to influence most of the songs on the album, down to those great grooving riffs throughout, as well as on the vocals, especially on Yester Hara, those quick fire barks echoing Kill Trend Suicide.The slightly slower crawl of Warping the Necro Spawn allows for more dirty grooving riffage and rhythmic militant drumming, while Broken Sceptre delivers another speedy Brutal Truth-esque assault – but in a sound all their own with that punishing low end and more frantic assault and battery on the drums.

The best track of the bunch is Fear, with those slower riffs being pure mosh fuel, while the faster sections are insane, the urgency of the pained screaming is really powerful, and the interplay between the growls and screams is great, and that main riff will stay with you long after the album finishes. There aren’t any bad tracks on the album at all, and each has their own flavour, whether the flat out speed of Impaled Upon Your Zodiac, the snappy drums and grinding bass of Nameless Grave, or the vicious barking of Funeral Hag.

Pessimist is unrelentingly heavy and these grinders have released an album I can hardly stop listening to since getting my hands on it. They have a sound all their own with that great low end, and fans of Brutal Truth in particular should make sure to check this album ASAP.